Monday, April 2, 2012

Asia-Pacific fixed broadband revenue to reach $92.2 billion in 2017

SINGAPORE: The worldwide fixed broadband market continues to grow, despite a surge in mobile broadband adoption. The number of fixed broadband subscribers reached 586.7 million in 1Q 2012, generating service revenue of $47.7 billion. Fixed broadband infrastructure is expanding in different countries around the world due to broadband’s socioeconomic benefits. In the countries with high broadband penetration, networks are being upgraded to provide better quality of service.

PCs and laptops are not the only devices connected to the Internet in today’s digital homes. More and more Internet-connected devices, such as TVs and tablets, are being used. As the connected devices grow, online applications and services – including online TV programs, video gaming, and video chatting – are becoming increasingly common, creating a high demand for high-speed broadband access. The fiber broadband market is witnessing the fastest adoption as broadband operators continue to boost fiber broadband deployment to satisfy the speed demand.

In 1Q 2012, Asia-Pacific was alone in adding nearly seven million subscribers, most notably by net subscriber additions in China. China is aggressively upgrading its broadband infrastructure with optical fiber. The Chinese government allocated 80 percent of its $303 billion infrastructure investment for broadband development. China Telecom plans to hit 100 million fiber broadband subscribers by the end of 2015. The company is accelerating cloud computing and other Internet applications to speed up broadband adoption.

India is the next country trying to boost broadband adoption in the Asia-Pacific with a central government aim to achieve 175 million broadband subscribers by 2017. Although the target seems aggressive, the ongoing cable digitalization process, coupled with initiatives such as e-government services in banking, education, and healthcare, will definitely drive broadband uptake in India. “Being driven by broadband deployments in China and India, the Asia-Pacific broadband market is expected to grow faster than other regions, generating service revenue of $92.2 billion in 2017,” says Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst, broadband.